LG’s space in the smartphone market has been reduced for years, but next year the company may actually end the process. That’s right, LG has officially confirmed that it is considering leaving the smartphone market in 2022.
A report earlier this week from He c (already excluded) claimed that LG’s superiors notified employees of potential plans, but LG’s representatives categorically denied that this was the case. Well, now another report from The Korea Herald is bringing it back to the table, and this time LG is not saying no.
LG CEO Kwon Bong-seok sent an internal memo to employees on Wednesday saying “it was time” for the company to take a look at things and possibly make “the best choice”. What is the best choice? Apparently, LG is downsizing its smartphone business, withdrawing entirely from the market and potentially even selling its smartphone business and assets.
As competition in the global mobile device market is getting tougher, it’s time for LG to make a cold judgment and make the best choice. The company is considering all possible measures, including selling, withdrawing and downsizing the smartphone business.
Unlike the last time, LG confirmed that this message is real, saying to The Verge that nothing has been decided at this point.
Honestly, this is no surprise. To say that LG has failed to gain traction in the market is an understatement. In recent years, LG’s flagship mid-range phones have consistently lagged behind competitors like Samsung and Apple and have been less revered than Google devices and other Android OEMs.
Software support has also been a constant problem for LG, as the company is notorious for not updating its Android smartphones in a timely manner for years. As a result of the evaporation of consumer interest, the company has had very little success in all markets, especially in the United States, where LG phones are nothing more than containers for operators to adjust and sell as they wish.
To put things in perspective, the last time an LG phone was truly attractive against the launches of Samsung, Apple and Google was the LG G4 launched in 2015. There have been some highlights since then, like LG V60, LG Velvet and even the crazy LG Wing, but these efforts were simply too few, too late.
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